A N O N P R O F I T, I N D EP EN D EN T N E W S S O U R C E TO I N F O R M , I N S P I R E , E D U C AT E A N D C O N N EC T T H E S T. LO U I S J E W I S H CO M M U N I T Y.
S T L J E W I S H L I G H T. O R G
2 7 K I S L E V, 5 7 8 2
D EC . 1 , 2 0 2 1
VO L . 74 N O . 4 4
Embracing their second act Former KSDK-TV anchor Karen Foss brings her art to St. Louis in new show BY JORDAN PALMER CHIEF DIGITAL CONTENT OFFICE
Karen Foss has been off the air in St. Louis for 15 years, but it’s safe to say she remains one of the most beloved and admired news anchors to have ever worked in television here. In her own way, Foss created art every night at 10 p.m. on KSDK-TV. Now, she is bringing a new version of her art back to St. Louis. A year after leaving TV in 2006, Foss was named vice president for public relations at Ameren, where she continued her career in until retiring in 2011 as corporate Senior Vice President for Communications. And this is when Foss really went to work. This is when she found her second act. Moving to Santa Fe, N.M, Foss pursued her lifelong dream of becoming an artist. She is returning soon to welcome her own show of original oil paintings, “Moments and Memories,” at the Duane Reed Gallery from Dec. 10 through Jan. 8.
Looking back “I had always enjoyed art and took as many classes as I could in high school,” said Foss, who grew up in Kansas City. “I studied at a small fashion design school in Kansas City for a couple of years but realized there were very few fashion design jobs locally and I longed for the intellectual challenge of a real university education.” First attending Johnson County Community College and then University of Missouri-Kansas City, Foss started
out as an art student before discovering communications, which she felt offered more job opportunities. “I turned my creativity to home décor, and sewing clothes for me and my children. I often took art classes here and there but could never seem to make the time for serious study. I admire those who do have demanding careers and still manage to make art – many do, but I couldn’t do it.” Even as her broadcast career began to take shape, Foss continued to harbor her dream of becoming an artist and even an architect. “I had always hoped to return to painting in my future,” said Foss. Karen Foss
The past influencing the now With so many years at the forefront of broadcast news in St. Louis, it is not hard to imagine that this vast experience would influence Foss’ second act. “At first, I started out studying portrait painting and I believe that search for the ‘story behind the story’ came from my decades of journalism and my love of interviewing people,” said Foss. “Although I’ve now focused more on landscape and cityscape, I’m always looking for that something that may not be visible at first glance, just as we do in journalism.” See FOSS on page 8A
Octogenarian ‘Picasso’ turns new love of painting into good works BILL MOTCHAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
The Designing Block gallery in Clayton, which often showcases emerging artists, recently extended space to a talented octogenarian who started painting as a hobby just six months ago. The artist is Lenore Pepper, who happens to be something of an expert in home furnishings and design. Pepper, 87, and her husband, Eddie, congregants of Congregation Temple Israel, are the owners of the design firm Edwin Pepper & Associates. After nearly a year of COVIDimposed sheltering and reading every book she could find, Pepper was ready for a new challenge. She loves gardening and plants. For years, she wanted to learn to draw and paint trees, so she decided to give it a shot. Before applying a brushstroke, she accidentally spilled a glob of acrylic paint on a canvas. The idea of throwing Lenore Pepper with one of her paintings. PHOTO CREDIT: BILL MOTCHAN
2021-12-01 page 01.indd 1
it out and starting over seemed too wasteful. “I thought, ‘How could I be so sloppy?’ ” Pepper said. “Then I figured I might be able to do something with it and, before I knew it, I had a painting. I looked at it and I thought it might be good. So I started trying different techniques and learning more about brushes and brushstrokes.” Pepper’s grandson Brandon came to visit her and liked her early work, so she gave it to him for his apartment. She continued painting and creating new work, about 46 pieces. Her son Marc, also a design consultant, told her he liked them, so she gave them to him. He’s been selling them for $150 each. That gave her an idea: to create even more paintings and sell them to raise money for a good cause. She now has a group of recently completed paintings for sale, with 20% of the proceeds going to the Sam and Marilyn FoxLenore and Edwin Pepper Friendship Fund for Camp Scholarships. See PEPPER on page 9A
11/30/21 5:42 PM